Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Acts 11:25-26
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet
Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2
In chapter 11 of the book of Acts, the writer tells the story of how the persecution of the Church scattered the believers across the land. Some of these Jesus followers started preaching in the places where they landed. It was at one of these places, Antioch, where the disciples were first called Christians.
Across the centuries, the term ‘Christian’ has been lauded and vilified. People who claim to be Christian have done amazing and beautiful things in the name of Jesus Christ. And yet, other people who claim to be Christian have done awful and hurtful things in that same name.
Christians have built hospitals, started schools, created literature, and gave comfort to those on the margins. Christians have also colonized native lands, enslaved peoples, waged wars, and massacred those who did not profess Christianity.
Present-day Christians financially exploit their followers, promote intolerance and animosity, and grapple with scandals involving sexual abuse. Despite their claims of understanding the divine, they prioritize the worship of the Bible over a genuine exploration of its core teachings.
Brennan Manning made have said it best. The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
There was a time when I wanted to reject the label “Christian” and call myself “a simple follower of Jesus”. And on any given day after watching the national news, I lean towards that rejection.
But it was a spiritual director who suggested that I should focus less on the label and more on what it is I choose to do. She suggested that a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.
On any given day, we may not necessarily do a great job of being a simple follower of Jesus, but maybe we should endeavor to smell nice, making our desire with all our hearts to follow Jesus, to listen to Jesus, and lean into a different way of living.
Let us pray. An excerpt of The Merton Prayer:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. Amen.
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